Promises Of Hope
by Chromatic Shade
Summary: Avenger!Loki is investigating an infamous crime syndicate, alone as the others assume Loki can take care of himself. He ends up tortured for his magic, and Thor is horrible at emotional support. Enter Tony. Tony/Loki friendship. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'm quite a fan of Hurt!Loki so I it was only a matter of time before I wrote myself a fanfiction about it. First and foremost, I apologize for my writing. It can be quite choppy at times. Also, if you see any typos/spelling errors, please tell me. I probably didn't catch them all. **IMPORTANT NOTE: In this verse, I've decided for the sake of my laziness that Loki is an Avenger, having been recruited after a couple battles with the original Avengers. I di this so I could be lazy and not have to write out a bunch of long boring chapters with the Avengers being wary of Loki and getting used to him and all that...****  
>--

Loki focused intently, seething. A torrent of swirling black clouds surrounded him in a pulsing aura of frustration. Not that it would do him any good, and he knew that. But he refused to accept it. These stubborn walls couldn't possibly hold him much longer, not with his power constantly beating against them.

They did.**  
><strong>This was Tony's fault. A "brilliant plan", he'd said, "They'd finally figure out what Omega was planning.." All he had to do was pretend to go traitor and create an alliance with Omega-a rising criminal syndicate-, just for a little while. Well, turns out that said organization had counted on them doing this so they could get to Loki. Or, more accurately, to get to Loki's magic.

There had been a brief introduction with Omega officials (if you could call them that) who had led Loki into quite the elaborate trap. And now he was stuck in this enchanted glass box listening to the hum of a machine as it slowly started moving. Needless to say, he was not happy.**  
><strong>Bright disks of florescent light began to spin. A opaque mixture of steam and gas began to flood the box. The last thing Loki saw before it obstructed his view was the arrogant grin resting upon the face of the Omega leader, Demni, who had suggested the treaty in the first place. After noting this, however, he had little time to ponder it. The wisps of the gas had already infested his lungs. Loki's breaths became shorter and less frequent. His vision grew fuzzy, and he could _feel_his magic slowly draining. The machine seemed to sap more than just magic, as the trickster began to feel weak and lightheaded along with the emptiness that was steadily growing at a scarily fast rate.

But that was nothing compared to what happened next. The barely harnessed force hit him with it's full power. It tore at his very core, ripping the stores of magic within. It was unrefined, tearing flesh along with it's purpose. Loki's eyes were wide in pain as a stream of blood trickled down his chin.**  
><strong>The previously white mist had turned a deep black, toiling around it's victim. Loki shook against his bindings, his back arching in agony. His screams couldn't be heard over the wailing of the machine. Loki was completely defeated. His very life was being stolen from him. And there was nothing he could do.

-/-

Thor, Tony, and Clint walked down the dark hallways. It was quiet, chillingly so. The Omega base was set within moist cave tunnels. They stayed together in a tight group, surveying every inch of the natural structure.**  
><strong>**"**I don't like this, guys. There's no one here. We should have met at least five patrols by now, and we haven't seen Loki at all. He was supposed to meet up with us." Tony whispered, breaking the silence.

The other voiced their agreement. Thor ran a hand along the wall, "Somethin' is not right about this, friends. I believe we may have found this "Project" that Omega has been cultivating. And it does not bode well."

They turned the corner and instantly pulled back in surprise as they saw a large room that was flashing rather suspiciously. Clint took a few steps forward, bow raised. Tony and Thor soon followed. He cracked the security code and watched the door open with a resounding hiss. And nothing would've prepared him for the tortuous sight within.

Luckily, he didn't have to be prepared. Thor pushed past him, a fiery rage in his eyes. He stormed the room, furious at what he saw inside. The room depicted a scene or torment. Soldiers stood working on various blinking panels. A glass box shimmered with power, but it didn't keep Tony form witnessing the sight within.**  
><strong>Loki lay bound by gleaming bands of metal. The pulsing electricity seemed to be wrenching something deep in him. Blood was pooling on his chest and dripping down the side of his mouth.

**"**LOKI!"

Thor bellowed, then charged the few men in the chamber. Mjolnir made short work of them all, smashing bone and crunching heads. Rage still evident on his face, he turned to see the last one, Demni, sneaking away. The thunder god began to make chase, but the man suddenly lit up with a flash of light and disappeared. His priorty changed, Thor made a beeline for his younger brother.**  
><strong>Tony and Clint felt a little useless at the moment and found the controls to switch the machine off one lever at a time. Before long, the hum dissipated and the door to the box unlocked. An expression of relief washed over Loki's face as the machine shut off.

It had been unbearable, the pain. It had engulfed all of his senses, leaving only the feeling of everything being taken from him. Of the strange force stealing nearly all that he held precious. And now, finally, the agony relented. The primal _pull_was gone, leaving Loki drained and broken. He still sported many lethal wounds, but the pain from these was only a slight annoyance compared to the earlier torture.**  
><strong>He heard someone coming. He could already feel the oppressing push of exhaustion. His eyes barely slits, he saw a familiar face obstruct his vision. Blue eyes were laced with concern as they moved closer. He was saying something, but Loki couldn't make it out. It was all growing too fuzzy, and he was just so tired...He only had time for one last thought before unconsciousness claimed his mind.

_Brother?_**  
><strong>-/-**  
><strong>**AN: And there it is! I do have the next to chapters already written (I just need to type them) so I shouldn't take me too long to get those posted. And review! Please? Reviews are the fuel for this story, so the more reviews the more story! (Okay, that's a lie. It's mostly fueled on my love for Loki and angst-preferably together-. But reviews still make me type faster!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well here it is! Not much to say except apologize for any OOC-ness that I know is there. It's been forever since I watched Iron Man.**

**Disclaimer For Entire Fic: I do not own! I do not own Avengers, or Thor, or Marvel or any of the characters in this story!**

-/-

Loki woke with a start, or he tried to. But the motion, quite predictably, jarred his injured body. A searing pain shot through his chest and head. Groaning, he let his head fall back to the pillows and closed his eyes to block out the light. He began to evaluate his situation. He wasn't hurt nearly as bad as he earlier thought. The process had been stopped prematurely and thus saved Loki from extreme injury. He was mostly sore, agonizingly so, yes, but not to bad in the grander scheme of things. He would be able to leave the wretched medical wing in no longer than a few days.

"That was quite the beating you took."

Loki was forced to open his eyes once more to identify the speaker, the genius playboy billionaire philanthropist known as Tony Stark. Loki immediately put on a piercing glare.

Tony chuckled, "Hey now, don't give me that look. If it weren't for me and my medical equipment you could, _would _be dead."

Loki didn't respond.

Tony smiled again, "Well then. So much for breaking the _ice_," he laughed at his horrible joke.

Loki pushed it up a notch and sent Tony a death glare.

Just then, Thor entered the small room, "Brother! You are finally awake!" his face turned serious, "Tell me what happened. I thought the deal was sound, you said they wouldn't dare attack yet! What made them do so?"

Loki rolled his eyes. Poor, naïve Thor. He still thinks of the world in such black and white terms. He seems to constantly forget that Loki is the God Of Lies. And therefore his knack for lying was not canceled out simply because he joined the 'good' side. It happens to be very convenient when he needed to get a worried not-brother off his back. And how was he supposed to know that Omega had plotted all of this? That they had tricked him, the master trickster and-

"Loki?"

The god broke from his inner rant long enough to reply, "Unforeseen complications, Thor. Nothing less, nothing more. Not everything can be predicted. It was not forced. They merely requested a test of my loyalty. I thought I was supposed to gain their trust for our original plan to work. I'm sure it would have been fine if you hadn't charged in," it wouldn't have. Hours more of the endless, torturous procedure until his very life snapped free into an endless void...Omega's intentions were anything but harmless. But Loki decided he need not say so. He may be working with them, but that didn't mean he had to tell them everything. Irrational as it was, secrets were his only fall-back, his only safety...

Thor didn't miss a beat, "Loki, I may not know very well anymore, and I've even questioned whether or not I ever did, but what I do know is that you are lying."

Since when had Thor developed a brain? Because right now was one of the worst times for that to suddenly happen.

Loki sighed, "It's nothing you need to be concerned about. Injuries are part of being one of Midgard's 'protectors', is it not?"

Thor also sighed. That was Loki speak for 'You are right but there's no way in Niffleheim I'm going to admit it.' Slowly, he walked over to the side of the bed.

"Loki, we need this information so we can stop Omega. We need the truth. We are a team, brother! You are here, helping Earth! And there's obviously nowhere else you could possibly go where people would even dare tolerate you! This is the only chance you have and I suggest you take it!"

Loki shrunk back slightly, stung at the sheer frustration in the words. Of course, he quickly composed himself and sent back his own seething reply, "You think I don't know that? The nine realms have done nothing but-"

"INTERCEPTION!" Tony yelled, causing the other two to look at him. Awkward silence imminent.

"Listen, you two. If you keep fighting we'll get no where fast. Both of you have some merit to your argument, but it's really not necessary now. We have time. And Thor, back down," a bit of anger slipped into his tone, "The last thing Loki needs is to be shot down by you."

Thor said nothing and stomped from the room.

-/-

Steve yawned as he walked down the stairs. He still hadn't heard the results of the investigation of the latest Omega base. For a new criminal organization, they were gaining power alarmingly fast. He had already seen both Thor and Tony milling about, so it seemed like everything was alright. Thor has seemed a little down, but that was probably because they'd ran out of PopTarts the other day.

He entered the kitchen and casually grabbed a cookie off a platter on the counter. One of the cabinets was smashed, it's contents spilling onto the floor. Steve payed it no mind and turned to sit at the table with a box of cereal in hand.

"Hey Steve," Tony said.

Steve responded in kind, "Hello," and took a bite from his cookie.

Tony shifted in his seat and stirred the leftover syrup on his plate with his fork, "Oh yeah. Loki was nearly killed during that mission he was sent on. Some sort of magic-sucky-thingy machine. And Thor decided to be a jerk for a day."

Steve choked on his cookie, "_What?_"

Tony smiled, "It's a long story. Well, actually it's pretty short. Loki was injured by Omega for some obscure reason he naturally refuses to tell us, and apparently misinformation makes Thor a little moody. I just hope that doesn't trigger some path of destruction, because I just barely got those new walls installed after the last one."

Steve managed not to die at the hands of double-chocolate-chip and simply nodded. Walls happened to be a luxury the captain enjoyed, and would like them to remain where they were.

Tony continued to speak with a more serious tone, "It shouldn't have happened, Steve. I went through thousands of precautions to insure that he would be as safe as possible! But this Demni managed to still get to Loki in a fraction of the time it took me to set everything up. I don't like this. Omega seems to be worse than we thought."

They sat in silence for a minute, thinking.

"Okay! Getting off my soapbox," Tony mumbled and began to leave the kitchen. Steve nodded once again and stared at his bowl, mulling over the information.

-/-

The Iron Man strode down the long hallways of Stark Mansion. He was running through quick checks of the house on a small device. He hadn't walked long when JARVIS chimed in.

"Sir."

Tony sighed, "Yes JARVIS?"

The AI continued,"You said earlier that you ran through multiple precautions to insure Loki's safety on the mission. Something not usually done with other members of the Avengers. Also, you said _I_, not _we_. This has happened several times since Loki joined the team. I simply wished to know the reason so I could incorporate it into other situations?"

"Shut up JARVIS."

-/-

A/N: And there! I'm sorry these chapters are always so short, but I have limited time to type these things. Though I have found that typing goes much faster when listening to songs people have set to Loki tributes and such :)

And thanks so much for all of you who reviewed! I got WAY more than my strong estimate of 0.


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